No Arabic abstract
A detailed investigation of electronic-transport properties of Nd0.5Sr0.5CoO3 has been carried out as a function of grain size ranging from micrometer order down to an average size of 28 nm. Interestingly, we observe a size induced metal-insulator transition in the lowest grain size sample while the bulk-like sample is metallic in the whole measured temperature regime. An analysis of the temperature dependent resistivity in the metallic regime reveals that the electron-electron interaction is the dominating mechanism while other processes like electron-magnon and electron-phonon scatterings are also likely to be present. The fascinating observation of enhanced low temperature upturn and minimum in resistivity on reduction of grain size is found due to electron-electron interaction (quantum interference effect). This effect is attributed to enhanced disorder on reduction of grain size. Interestingly, we observed a cross over from positive to negative magnetoresistance in the low temperature regime as the grain size is reduced. This observed sign reversal is attributed to enhanced phase separation on decreasing the grain size of the cobaltite.
The two dimensional kagome spin lattice structure of Mn atoms in the family of Mn$_3$X non-collinear antiferromagnets are providing substantial excitement in the exploration of Berry curvature physics and the associated non-trivial magnetotransport responses. Much of these studies are performed in the hexagonal systems, mainly Mn$_3$Sn and Mn$_3$Ge, with the kagome planes having their normal along the [001] direction. In this manuscript, we report our study in the cubic Mn$_3$Pt thin films with their kagome planes normal to the [111] crystal axis. Our studies reveal a hole conduction dominant Hall response with a non-monotonic temperature dependence of anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC), increasing from 9 $Omega^{-1}$cm$^{-1}$ at room temperature to 29 $Omega^{-1}$cm$^{-1}$ at 100 K, followed by a drop and unexpected sign-reversal at lower temperatures. Similar sign reversal is also observed in magnetoresistance measurements. We attribute this sign reversal to the transition from a Berry curvature dominated AHC at high temperature to a weak canted ferromagnetic AHC response at lower temperature, below 70 K, caused by the reorientation of Mn moments out of the kagome plane. Our above results in thin films of Mn$_3$Pt make advances in their integration with room temperature antiferromagnetic spintronics.
The linear reversal mechanism in FePt grains ranging from 2.316 nm to 5.404 nm has been simulated using atomistic spin dynamics, parametrized from ab-initio calculations. The Curie temperature and the critical temperature (T*), at which the linear reversal mechanism occurs, are observed to decrease with system size whilst the temperature window T* < T < TC increases. The reversal paths close to the Curie temperature have been calculated, showing that for decreasing system size the reversal path becomes more elliptic at lower temperatures, consistent with the decrease in the Curie temperature arising from finite size effects. Calculations of the minimum pulse duration show faster switching in small grains and is qualitatively described by the Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation with finite size atomistic parameterization, which suggests that multiscale modeling of FePt down to a grain size of ~ 3.5 nm is possible.
Thin films prepared of semiconductor nanoparticles are promising for low-cost electronic applications such as transistors and solar cells. One hurdle for their breakthrough is their notoriously low conductivity. To address this, we precisely decorate CdSe nanoparticles with platinum domains of one to three nanometers in diameter by a facile and robust seeded growth method. We demonstrate the transition from semiconductor to metal dominated conduction in monolayered films. By adjusting the platinum content in such solution-processable hybrid, oligomeric nanoparticles the dark currents through deposited arrays become tunable while maintaining electronic confinement and photoconductivity. Comprehensive electrical measurements allow determining the reigning charge transport mechanisms.
Size can widely affect the surface chemical activities (SCAs) of nanomaterials in chemisorption, catalysis, surface effects, etc., but the underlying electronic nature has long remained mysterious. We report a general electronic principle that drives the origin of size-dependent SCAs by combining experimental probing and theoretical modeling. Using the chemisorption of H2O2 on TiO2 as a model reaction, we experimentally reveal that the central electronic process of surface chemical interactions lies in the competitive redistribution of surface atomic orbitals from energy band states into surface coordination bonds. By defining orbital potential, a site-dependent intrinsic electronic property that determines surface activities, we further establish a mathematical model to uncover the physical nature of how structural factors correlate to SCAs, particularly the roles of size. We discover that the electronic nature of size effect lies in its inverse correlation to orbital potential and amplification effect on other structural factors like defects and coordination numbers.
We report the magneto-transport properties and the electronic structure of TmSb. TmSb exhibits extremely large transverse magnetoresistance and Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation at low temperature and high magnetic field. Interestingly, the split of Fermi surfaces induced by the nonsymmetric spin-orbit interaction has been observed from SdH oscillation. The analysis of the angle-dependent SdH oscillation illustrates the contribution of each Fermi surface to the conductivity. The electronic structure revealed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and first-principles calculations demonstrates a gap at $X$ point and the absence of band inversion. Combined with the trivial Berry phase extracted from SdH oscillation and the nearly equal concentrations of electron and hole from Hall measurements, it is suggested that TmSb is a topologically trivial semimetal and the observed XMR originates from the electron-hole compensation and high mobility.